This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
(Choir)
Jerusalem on a dusty road
An innocent man condemned to death
Bore a cross on his shoulders
They didn't know
Down the via dolorosa
He staggered in agony
As he looked upon the hatred
In the eyes of his own seed
They didn't know
(Lead)
They didn't know
He was enduring this for them
So they could live forever more
In paradise with him
They didn't know one day they'd sing his praise
With fear and trembling
They didn't recognize the king that kings called king
(Choir)
He didn't have to die for me
He could have just set himself free
He could have come down from the cross at Calvary
(Lead)
But instead He was wounded for our transgressions
And He was bruised for our iniquity
(Choir)
And by his stripes we are healed
Oh what an awesome price He paid for me
The hung him high
And stretched him wide
They nailed his hands and feet
And pierced him in the side
They didn't know
Look at my savior hanging there
Suffering, bleeding, dying for me and you
Oh Jesus never said a mumbling word but father they know not what they do
And He bowed his head, hung his head and He died (2x)
My Jesus bowed his head hung his head and He died(2x)
But on the third day
On the third day (2x)
Jesus rose
He rose (3x)
Jesus rose
Victoriously
Triumphantly
With authority
He rose
Rose (2x)
He rose
Jerusalem on a dusty road
An innocent man condemned to death
Bore a cross on his shoulders
They didn't know
Down the via dolorosa
He staggered in agony
As he looked upon the hatred
In the eyes of his own seed
They didn't know
(Lead)
They didn't know
He was enduring this for them
So they could live forever more
In paradise with him
They didn't know one day they'd sing his praise
With fear and trembling
They didn't recognize the king that kings called king
(Choir)
He didn't have to die for me
He could have just set himself free
He could have come down from the cross at Calvary
(Lead)
But instead He was wounded for our transgressions
And He was bruised for our iniquity
(Choir)
And by his stripes we are healed
Oh what an awesome price He paid for me
The hung him high
And stretched him wide
They nailed his hands and feet
And pierced him in the side
They didn't know
Look at my savior hanging there
Suffering, bleeding, dying for me and you
Oh Jesus never said a mumbling word but father they know not what they do
And He bowed his head, hung his head and He died (2x)
My Jesus bowed his head hung his head and He died(2x)
But on the third day
On the third day (2x)
Jesus rose
He rose (3x)
Jesus rose
Victoriously
Triumphantly
With authority
He rose
Rose (2x)
He rose
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
They Didn't Know Lyrics as written by Kurt Carr
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.